


Sea Salt

by MOBAge_Hell



Category: Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI
Genre: Found Family, Gen, background terra/lenna, handful of character cameos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 15:14:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16915290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MOBAge_Hell/pseuds/MOBAge_Hell
Summary: And she means to take care of the reason, but tracking down Terra somehow proves harder. It's not like she simply disappears into another dimension, like she's half convinced Shadow does, but the mage is very good at blending into the background. Becoming near invisible when unneeded. Faris will see her conversing with someone else one minute, and there will be no trace of her the next.Galuf laughs when she complains again. Faris contemplates if it would have been possible to shove him back in the meteor and kick him back to his own world.(Or, a mistake turns into a friendship)





	Sea Salt

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to pointless fluff land
> 
> Not completely satisfied with it but I've been banging my head against a keyboard all year and don't have shit to show for it

“Lenna.”

And in that moment, Faris wants to shove her foot in her mouth.

She would like to say she is versed in traveling worlds. But no one masters something the first time they’ve done it. Or the second time, for that matter. At least here there are familiar faces among the sea of unfamiliar ones. They almost have the old party back again

Almost

There was a fleeting moment where she thought she saw her sister, in the corner of her eye with the same poise and fluttering accessories Lenna always leaned towards. But now that Faris is actually looking this girl in the face, the similarities start melting

“I’m. . .sorry?” She tilts her head to the side.

“My apologies.” Faris spits out as fast as her mouth will let her “For a second you looked like someone I know.”

“Oh” There’s a flash of relief, but it's gone by the next moment. The blonde hair that frames her face is a slightly green shade, unlike the pinkish tint her and her sister’s hair take.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah?” It takes a moment for the girl to register what Faris said “Yes! Yes I’m alright. Simply tired.”

She gives her best reassuring smile to the pirate, and suddenly Faris can’t separate the person in front of her from Lenna again.

But there is something more than wistfulness that settles in her heart. Something in the smile of the small, small light that claws at her chest.

Faris walks away before she can embarrass herself further.

\--

“Oh, Terra?”

Bartz squints his eyes while he taps a finger on his chin. He's never been one for more subtle body language, but not having to doubt his words is a nice feeling.

“I don't really know much about her. Keeps to herself mostly.” He shrugs heavily “Maybe try asking Shadow? I think he and Terra share a world.”

And for the record, Faris does try to ask him. But asking him requires finding him first, and Bartz was never good with details like how Shadow only really shows up when he feels like it. The boy with the crystal pierced cheek told her at the very least, but it wouldn't give back the hours she wasted looking for him.

The pirate could wait until he decided to show up again, but she wasn't a fan of sitting around and doing nothing. Even back on her ship there was always something that needed to be attended to or taken care of while the winds guided their travels.

She was better than this, though. Faris never had these sort of issues with her crew, and certainly not with the party she had been roped into. But she also never had to handle something so fragile before. There were so many cracks in Terra’s light she was terrified one wrong touch would cause the entire thing to shatter at her feet.

“Have you tried simply talking to her?” Galuf suggests when she airs her frustrations, and the pink the appears on her cheeks makes him bark out in his usual hearty laughter. For the moment, she wishes she had never helped them in the first place.

\--

She does plan to talk to Terra, even if the plan settles in the back of her mind and goes forgotten when she's attending more important things. 

At least that's what Faris hoped would happen. It instead manages to tack itself on to random thoughts, distracting her from fighting the things currently trying to kill her. 

“Are you unwell?” Y’shtola asks after a skirmish. The ears that rest on the woman’s head twitch, swiveling in different directions to make sure the area is as clear as it looks. The pirate forgets the question entirely for a moment 

“I apologize for worrying you.” Faris replies as soon as she can reel her thoughts back in “I feel fine, though I am having a hard time keeping my head out of the clouds.”

And she means to take care of the reason, but tracking down Terra somehow proves harder. It's not like she simply disappears into another dimension, like she's half convinced Shadow does, but the mage is very good at blending into the background. Becoming near invisible when unneeded. Faris will see her conversing with someone else one minute, and there will be no trace of her the next.

Galuf laughs when she complains again. Faris contemplates if it would have been possible to shove him back in the meteor and kick him back to his own world.

\--

The sea is like a comfort blanket. Without it, Faris has a hard time sleeping.

She misses the gentle creek of wood as water splash along the side of the boat, the quiet whistle of calm winds that would play with their riggings. She misses the tide rocking her to sleep.

The ground is still, and somehow that makes Faris restless. Back in her own world she had found a way to cope. Bartz and Galuf were such heavy sleepers that only something akin to explosions would wake them up. Singing old sea shanties to herself while staring at the night sky never woke them. It would wake Lenna sometimes, but she would pretend to still be sleeping so she could listen to her sister sing.

Here there are so many people she barely knows that she doesn't dare try. Exhaustion sometimes catches up and forces her to sleep, but most nights are spent tossing and turning and listening to some others nearby do the same.

Sometimes she keeps trying. Other times she gives up, instead sitting by a dying campfire. The light doesn't really matter, thankfully. Candles strained her eyes so Faris had learned to whittle wood with only her fingers to feel the shape take form.

Regular wood doesn't quite have the same density as driftwood, but she was grateful to have something to busy her hands with at all. But it's also another reminder that Lenna isn't here, scooting close to watch in fascination.

There is someone watching though, and Faris gets ready to stab the figure out of habit.

She stares, and amethysts stare back

Terra starts to shift uncomfortably under her gaze, so the pirate resumes her busy work without another word. She can still feel her staring, though, edging closer when Terra thinks she’s not paying attention.

“You can sit next to me.” Faris hums “I doubt you can see much from there. I can barely see a damn thing and it’s right in front of me.”

It takes a while, but the mage does eventually sit down next to her, pulling her knees to her chest and silently watching. If she closes her eyes, Faris can pretend that its Lenna there instead.

“Isn’t it dangerous to work with a knife when it's this dark?” She inquires

“Aye, but there aren’t always spare lanterns out at sea.” The pirate stops to run her fingers along the wood, feeling the areas that still needed work “Why are you still up so late?”

Terra swallows. Faris puts the knife down to squeeze the mage’s shoulder.

“You can tell me if I’m prying too deep. I won’t be offended.”

Silence. Faris resumes her work

“Couldn’t sleep.” She eventually hears Terra mumble. 

“Ah.” The embers barely cast shadows, let alone provide light. A breeze threatens to snuff them out entirely, but they continue to burn. “Birds of a feather, I suppose.” the pirate continues. She looks back at the mage again. In the soft light her hair is almost a pink shade.

Terra stays quiet, so Faris continues her work. She hums this time, one old sea shanty tune turning into another when she had forgotten how the rest of it went. The other girl moves closer, closer, until she can feel the mage’s head resting on her shoulder.

When the pirate finally puts her work down, Terra’s eyes are closed and her breaths steady and light. Faris considers giving the girl her coat so the night chill doesn’t disturb her sleep, but taking it off would require moving her and possibly waking her back up.

She keeps humming instead, staring up at the stars.

\--

“Who is Lenna?”

Terra’s eyebrows knit when she asks the question. It could be mistaken for squinting, the way the sun shines bright and merciless. Cloud stands back. Despite the amount of colorful outfits in the group, there are a surprising amount of people who are skilled at disappearing into the background.

“My sister.” Faris finally replies, her thumb running up and down the hilt of her dagger “I suppose.”

“You suppose?”

“We only found out about it recently.” The pirate sheathes her weapon in some attempt to stop herself from fiddling with it “Even then the only proof is my vague memories of my father and some matching trinkets.”

Terra hums thoughtfully, staring at the ground as she shifts her weight.

“Would you still miss her if you two weren't related?”

“Aye, I'd follow her to the ends of the earth. I suppose being siblings only gives me an excuse to do so.”

The mage smiles. Faris can't help but smile back.

“Are we done with the familial conversations?” Cloud’s tone sounds more annoyed than usual, which is saying something for the gloomy soldier.

“My apologies, Ser Cloud.” Faris gives him an over dramatic bow “Please, lead the way forward.”

His only response is a deep sigh, but Terra giggles so the pirate considers it a success.

“Tell me more.” She requests of Faris later.

“She has a smile like the sun. . .”

\--

“Lenna.”

And for a moment, Terra regrets it.

But then the girl turns around to face her and the relief comes instantly. Faris had said not much connected the two. But seeing her in person now, she can see the same pointed noise, the slender jawline, the hair that shined pink in some lights and blonde in others.

“You are. . . ?”

“Ah, my name is Terra. Faris told me a lot about you-”

Lenna smiles, and the mage has to blink the spots out of her vision. It's a practiced smile, but also one so genuine Terra can only give her a small one back. Not as radiant, but just as sincere.

“Nothing embarrassing, I hope.” She shifts her weight so she’s sitting towards Terra on the fallen log she used as a chair.

“Um. . .”

“That was a joke.” Lenna clarifies quickly, much to the mage’s relief “I’m glad she made friends.”

“She’s very kind.”

“Just make sure she doesn’t smother you. Faris loves trying to make up for lost time.”

The twinkle in Lenna’s eyes makes Terra think it was hardly a bad thing.

\--

Slowly, her walls melt under a sun of cherished rays and warm memories. They are not gone, but her hand is warm in Lenna’s.

**Author's Note:**

> Me: I want to write femslash for the dissidia tag!
> 
> Also me: -writes gen-


End file.
